An Intro to World Team Tennis

Andy Roddick will be the featured player for the Empire, which will be coached by Patrick McEnroe. (AP)

It is now August and that means it is time for World Team Tennis. Between July 31 to August 27 (Check dates for home games), New York tennis fans will have the opportunity to travel to Forest Hills and watch some star players participates in some exhibition tennis.

For those unfamiliar with World Team Tennis, which is also known as Mylan WTT, it was co-founded by tennis icon Billie Jean King in 1974. It is a tennis league that follows a team format. There are six teams in the league and each team features men and women of the past and present. The teams are composed of professional and amateur players.

When two teams face off, they face off in “event,” instead of matches. Women’s singles, men’s singles, women’s doubles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles make up the five events the teams have to play in.  During each event, the objective for the competitors is to reach five games. If the competitors are tied 4-4, they play a nine-point tiebreaker.

There are also other additional changes that are different from regular ATP or WTA tournaments. Unlike in regular tournaments, in WTT players play lets (when tennis ball grazes the net during a serve) and a new service clock feature has been added. Similar to the shot clock in basketball, the service clock allows the player see the amount of time (25 seconds) they have left to serve.  Teams are allowed timeouts (two per set) and the ability to substitute one player during an event.

NY Empire is the name of the team that represents New York and their home stadium is the above mentioned Forest Hill Stadium. The two notable professional stars is New Jersey native Christina McHale and grand slam champion and former world number one, Andy Roddick. For Roddick, he will play against today’s stars in singles since he retired in 2012.  Andy does play the PowerShares series but that league features retired players.

For tennis fans, WTT is another opportunity to see their favorite players compete in a unique tennis format. New Yorkers should relish in the opportunity to not only see additional tennis but to view it at the historic Forest Hills Stadium, which was once home of the U.S. Open. There is no doubt of the love tennis fans will get watching WTT. It is a jovial atmosphere where players cheer on their teams and let loose on the court.  Usually the U.S. Open is the only chance fans in the tristate area get to see tennis but now with WTT at Forest Hills, fans should take this opportunity and enjoy a night of tennis.